"Usually, they hang the sign-Grand Opening."

"Right, the sign and the lights." Vicki was too preoccupied to smile. "Or he drives by and he sees Reheema at Cater Street and she's with her mother."

"Not Saint Reheema. People don't buy crack with their mothers unless they use, too."

"Okay, let's say that Jamal drives by the neighborhood with one of his underlings and he sees Reheema in front of her mom's house, and he says to his pal, ‘Who's that girl?' " Vicki could imagine the scene. "And the friend says, ‘That's Reheema Bristow, and her mom buys from us.' And Shayla's in the car at the time." Vicki considered it and decided that she was right, yet again. "It's possible, isn't it?"

"It's not likely."

"But it's possible."

"Yes."

Yay! "Then maybe it happened." Vicki felt excited, but Dan looked dubious.

"So why would Shayla Jackson frame someone she saw on the street, a total stranger, on a straw charge?"

"I can think of one reason, but you won't guess it because you never met Reheema."

"Why?"

"She's gorgeous. She's stunning. She's like Beyonce, only cranky."

"You mean the gun."

"Exactly."

Dan laughed. "So?"

"If my boyfriend were showing an interest in her, or even asking who she was, I'd be worried." Vicki felt thunderstruck; it made so much sense. Maybe she had actually deserved to get into Harvard. Or maybe she just knew a lot about jealousy. "If I were in love with someone, but he had his eye on someone else or started to stray from me, I'd hate her. I'd want her gone."

"You're vicious." Dan was oblivious, even for a man.

"A straw charge is perfect, and Shayla would guess correctly that Reheema wouldn't dime on her own mother."

Dan was listening now, cocking his head.

"If Jamal started showing an interest in Reheema"-Vicki flashed on the bills on Shayla's dresser-"that would threaten Shayla's support."

"Not bad, but Reheema told you she didn't know Jamal. Is she a liar?"

"No, let's say she didn't know him, but he knew her, like with Shayla. He doesn't approach her, or even hit on her. Maybe he jokes about it or asks his friend about Reheema and Shayla finds out."

"That would be a very jealous woman."

"They exist." Look across the table, pal. "And we know that Shayla and Jamal did break up, because she was forwarding bills to him. If she were still seeing him, she'd just give them to him." Vicki felt excited. It was coming together, or at least part of it. "Shayla would know about the guns, because if Mrs. Bris-tow traded them for crack, they might find their way to Jamal. Or at least he'd know about them. If Shayla knew the guns had been bought by Reheema, she'd know enough to set her up for a straw charge. All it takes is a call."

"Not bad." Dan reached for his mug, which was empty.

"More coffee? I'm getting some." Vicki started to get up but Dan waved her down.

"Don't, you're caffeinated enough."

Vicki smiled. "So what do you think? Am I a genius or not?"

"You're a genius." Dan was nodding. "I think it's all very interesting."

"The question is, what do I do about it?"

"Nothing," Dan answered firmly.

"What? Why? I have to call Bale, I should tell him."

"Tell him later. If you call him now and start talking like this, he'll fire you for good. He didn't sound happy last night, and Saxon will have called him already." Dan relaxed back in his chair. "Lower the temperature of the situation. Let it sit for today. It's Morty's memorial, you know about that?"

"Sure."

"That will suck."

"Yes."

"Mariella might be able to go, if she can get somebody to take her place."

I could take her place. "That would be nice."

"So I say, let it be. Let Saxon forget your conversation and let Bale cool down."

"But they should follow up."

"They will. If you figured it out, they can figure it out. They really are professionals, Vick. Tell them next week and let them take it from there." Dan's tone turned almost plaintive. "Get real, girl. You did great, but Jamal Browning is a killer. A bona fide killer. You're out of your league."

Vicki knew it was true. She didn't have the stuff to go after Jamal Browning. She couldn't prove if he was behind Shayla's murder or if someone else was. And she didn't know if he or his underlings had anything to do with Mrs. Bristow's murder. She knew only that she had the information that would support the wiretaps and surveillance that would lead to the truth.

"Okay, I call Bale now and I'll play it by ear." Vicki rose to go to the phone, newly nervous. She couldn't afford to lose this job, but she wouldn't tell Dan her money worries. No one wanted to hear rich girls plead poverty. God bless the child. Vicki lifted the phone receiver. "I'll apologize for what I said to Saxon, then if Bale sounds like he's in a good mood, I'll tell him the theory. If he fires me, I'll shut up."

"Sounds like a plan. Should I stay or should I go?"

Is holding my hand an option? Vicki thought, but what she said was: "Stay." She picked up the phone and pressed in Bale's cell. It rang a few times, then his voicemail picked up, so she left a message, and managed to avoid begging for her job.

But she hung up with a bad feeling she couldn't quite explain.

PART THREE

The soil is good, the air serene and sweet from the cedar, pine and sassafras, with wild myrtle of great fragrance.

– WILLIAM PENN, in an early description of "Penn's Woods," the emerging colony of Pennsylvania and its capital, Philadelphia

Q: All right. Now, at the time, were you all selling drugs?

A: Well, at the time "G" had various corners that he was supplying, but there was those corners and I was selling drugs down the street from my grandmom's house at the projects, 55th and Vine.

Q: And when you say Gio had various corners, do you remember what the corners were that Gio had at the time?

A: Well, back then, a corner called 56th and Catherine was one of the major corners and he was serving the guys on Ithan Street quantity, small quantities of drugs back then.

Q: What does "serving" mean in the trade?

A: It means when the guys buying stuff off you. Like you go to the store you buy something.

Q: Uh-huh.

A: They just call it serving. It's slang like.

Q: So if you were "serving" somebody that meant you were selling them drugs?

A: Yes.

– JAMAL MORRIS, United States v. Williams, United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Criminal Docket No. 02-172, February 19, 2004, Notes of Testimony at 255

TWENTY-FOUR

Vicki had never been to the wake of an officer killed in the line of duty and hadn't realized that it would be a state occasion. At least a thousand mourners packed Prior's Funeral Home in the Philly suburb of Fort Washington, filling it to capacity. The reception line flowed out of its largest viewing room, spilled into the hallway, and continued outside the funeral home, where massive loudspeakers had been set up. Top brass from ATF in Washington, masses of ATF, FBI, and DEA agents, politicians, U.S. Attorneys, several federal judges, squadrons of uniformed police, support staff, and more than a few reporters made up the massive throng, which was somber and businesslike in mood.

Vicki had arrived early, and even so, stood in line, just outside the viewing room in the entrance hall. She had heard that only family was invited to the funeral tomorrow morning, and now she understood why. She couldn't see the front of the viewing room for the crowd, and multicolored roses, carnations, calla lilies, and gladioli filled every available spot. A large ATF plaque covered with a crepe sash hung on the front wall. The scent of the bouquets thickened the air, commingling with mint aftershaves, heavy perfumes, and cigarette smoke every time the front door opened.